Story of Seven Men
by jaimed1968
Summary: A coup on the Band of Seven results in the shift of power. With the leader missing and very much alive, every effort is taken to find and kill him. Only problem is he doesn't want to die. Will the renegade leader win or will the fallen leader rise again?
1. Chapter 1

Not much I can say on this story, just that I hope that you enjoy it. Set in modern era this is about the Band of Seven, obviously, but also of revenge. I'd like to thank by awesome co author Black-Banryu for his help in this story. Hope that you enjoy reading this as much as I had in working on this.

Disclaimer: As with any story that contains the characters of Inuyasha, I do not own the characters, other than my OCs, nor do I make any money from this story. I own the plot of this story and do not authorize anyone to alter this story plot in any way shape or form.

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Chapter 1- Coup

Gunfire rang out through the office building, followed by the screams of innocent people being mercilessly slaughtered by the lead tears of rifles and pistols. Bankotsu popped a second cartridge into his gun and sighed "This is so damn boring. When are we going to get some real action?" he growled, shooting two rival men in the head, as if that wasn't enough. Looking over at the dead men, a small smile graced his lips as he saw the red and black gang colors of the Rojo Lobos. _"I should have known that mutt was involved in this, though I thought that we had agreed on a truce,"_ he thought as he headed toward the fighting that continued through out the corridors.

As he entered the fray his 9mm barked as lead bullets rained down upon every target. A yell of caution from his right was silenced in a matter of a split second. Confused as to the yell, his face contorted in anger at the realization he was the intended target. Bankotsu turned around, his eyes growing wide as the roaring sound of a bullet's fire entered his ears. He felt a tingling sensation in his back as his spine screamed in agony, and he fell to the ground, weakened like a stray dog.

The gunfire through the corridor ceased as the leader of the Band of Seven lay there in a pool of his own blood, his arms curled in a look of disgust as he held his stomach in agony. Murmurs of the witnesses drowned out the continuing fight a few floors below as the steady, rhythmic foot steps of the killer approached. All fell silent as the man knelt near the head of the fallen leader. Schooling his features to hide the hate and contempt of the man before him, Bankotsu laid in his own atrophic pit, trying not to cringe from the excruciating pain running down his back.

"Well… well… look at what we have here," the killer mussed. "Looks like I get to sprout a new look after this day, thanks to you. Though it should have been mine after that old man died 5 years ago, but no… you had to come in and take over as if it was your right. I should have killed you before now," he spat, moving back to his feet only to give a swift kick to Bankotsu's ribs, smirking when he coughed blood all over the hard, unforgiving ground.

After the first kick, Bankotsu tried his hardest not to cry out in pain. With the following dozen or so more that followed, he tried his hardest to maintain consciousness. He knew that if he were to loss consciousness now, he'd never wake up again. Trying to keep his eyes locked on the face of Renkotsu, the bastard who he had thought was his most trusted advisor and second-in-command, Bankotsu saw for the 1st time what everyone else had been trying to tell him over the years. A few tears ran down his cheek, not of emotion, but simply his eyes were watering from all the gun smoke and blood ran down his mouth and forehead.

Renkotsu Feuer was out for one thing and one thing only, power. His eyes burned with the flames wrath and hatred as he launched another round of torture on the broken man's body, inflicting more pain on Bankotsu's already cracked or broken ribs and groin. With each kick he cursed Bankotsu, until his rage slowly ebbed away and his leg began to tire from the continued torture.

He pulled his gun from the holster at his waist, grinning manically as he pulled back the slide as he said, "I'm almost sad to see you go, Bankotsu. You were a worthy opponent, but now you're just a useless slab of flesh. I'll be the better man and put you out of your misery." A sly smile crossed his lips as he leveled the weapon at Bankotsu's head as he continued, "This shall be my finest moment… your death," he said bombastically.

Blood bedewed the concrete as Bankotsu crawled toward those he once called his brothers, who turned away, as Renkotsu stepped on the worm of a man and kicked his teeth in, as the scarlet terror of blood rained out from his ravaged teenage body. He whispered as he looked up to his best friend with warm eyes that had never been unsheathed from the cold disposition he always had on his face. Jakotsu turned away, tears falling in his eyes as Renkotsu kicked Bankotsu around some more. "You pathetic little man, get on your feet and fight me damn it!"

As his finger slowly squeezed the trigger, gunfire rang out through the corridor once more sending lead flying in his general direction. Quickly he ducked, unable to fire his weapon into the leader's head and thus confirming his ascension to the helm of the Band of Seven. He turned his head toward the gunfire, noticing that the red and black gang colors of the aggressors.

"_Damn them_," he thought before he turned his weapon on them, opening fire as one young punk leapt toward his position, effectively ending his life as the bullet plowed through his skull and buried itself deep down into the concrete, with a tiny spot of blood marking the back._ "Can't they even follow freaking stupid directions like who they are to shoot at?!_" he continued as he moved toward the stair well that was spewing out the Rojo Lobos gang members like some mass production assembly line.

A good ten minutes later, once the last of the Rojo Lobos were rounded up and formally 'dispatched.' Renkotsu growled under his breath as he moved toward where he'd left the body of his former rival. "Damned mutt… should have known that he'd try some shit like this," he thought darkly, knowing that he'd just basically declared open war on the Rojo Lobos while using them as the backdrop for his own coup.

With the occasional crack of gunfire echoing in the background, Renkotsu moved through the corridor, his temper flared as he flipped over every dead or injured body. "Damn it to hell!" he roared when he came to the splotch of blood where the half dead Bankotsu had been laying. Anger flowed through every fiber of his body at the fact that he'd lost his chance to kill the infamous Bankotsu Störrisch, thus claiming his place at the head of the largest criminal organization on the West Coast.

Where the hell could he have gone too?" he growled looking around the corridor for any evidence that could give him any clue as to where Bankotsu had escaped. Seeing that nothing seemed out of place and there was only one way to that particular floor, Ren roared out in frustration, opening fire on anything and everything in sight. The room echoed with gunfire and little particles of gray dust fell from the ceiling as the bullets etched at their surface. "BANKOTSU!!!" he shouted with unfulfilled wrath.

Down in the parking garage struggling to maintain consciousness Ban inched his way through the hidden panel that he'd sought refuge in. "Must stay awake," he thought as he crawled toward any means of escape. Ban heard the receding gunfire, knowing that the fire fights were nearly over and it was only a matter of time before the winning faction came through to clean up the mess.

"I should have known Renkotsu would have been behind something like this," he thought, groaning with the pain running through his body. Suddenly, breathing became excruciating and black spots began to cloud his vision as he tried to sit up, leaning against the rear tire of a black Escalade. After a few minutes, his breathing became easier, allowing for his vision to clear. Ban looked around the semi crowded garage trying to figure out his best means of escape. Blood stained his entire wardrobe, and bits of flesh stuck to the concrete ground beneath him.

As he tried to move once more toward his means of escape, his breathing became labored once more with black spots before his eyes as well as a pounding headache that seemed in tuned with his beating heart. "Can't stop… not now… too much at stake," Ban thought as he crawled toward his salvation. Blood trailed down his leg from the wound in his back, leaving a slick trail for him to pull his leg forward.

A Cherry red Mustang shown like a beacon of hope amongst the dark vehicles, that his most trusted associate Jakotsu drove. With a weak smile Ban thought of how much they'd been through over the years and no matter how odd he was, Jak would always be there for him. As he inched closer to his goal, the spots before his eyes and labored breather got worse and worse. "Too much… at stake… too much… at stake…" were as a mantra to keep him going only to finally to succumb to the darkness a mere foot from his goal.

"Damn that Renkotsu," Jak growled as he moved through the parking garage. Under orders to sweep up the riffraff, he checked all the vehicles for stray members of the Rojo Lobo gang. "Who died and put him in charge," he thought as he checked an Escalade when he came across a bloody trail. His lips turned into a smirk as he thought, "Easy prey." Pulling his Berretta from its holster, Jak slowly and methodically followed the trail, making sure that it wasn't some clever ruse by the rival gang.

He peeked around the back end of a dark Suburban, spying a booted foot and jean clad leg lying near the blood. The smirk on his face quickly disappeared as he recognized the prone form lying on the pavement. "Big Brother!" he practically shrieked as he sprinted toward the unconscious body.

The sight of his leader's broken and blood threshed body was too much for the effeminate man. Once he reached the mangled body, Jakotsu carefully reached toward the exposed neck, fearing the worse. "Please… please let there be a pulse," he murmured, tears riming his slate gray colored eyes. Pressing the battered and bruised vein in Ban's exposed neck; Jak found a faint heart beat. Breathing a sigh of relief, Jak looked around the parking garage once more, fearing that he wasn't alone.

Looking back at his leader and friend, Jak said softly, "I see now why Renkotsu is acting so strangely. With you dead, he'd become leader the Band of Seven." Jakotsu stirred with anger looking at his broken best friend. "I'm not going to let him just kill you!"


	2. Chapter 2

This is the second chapter of my story that I'd started back a while ago. We learn a bit more about our poor beaten leader and a wayward trucker. I'd like to thank my co-author Black-Banryu for his thoughts on this chapter as well as the icing and who encouraged me in this endeavor. Please remember to read review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: As with any story that contains the characters of Inuyasha, I do not own the characters, other than my OCs, nor do I make any money from this story. I own the plot of this story and do not authorize anyone to alter this story plot in any way shape or form.

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Chapter 2- Tempest

_Ol' Smokey's got them ears on and he's hot on your trail._

_He ain't gonna rest 'til you're in jail._

The music blared through the speakers of a dark blue Kenworth semi hauling a load of lumber down to Abilene, Texas. A slim hand reached over to the volume control turning it up as a melodious voice accompanied the radio.

_So you got to __dodge__ 'im and you got to __duck__ 'im,  
you got to keep that diesel truckin'.  
Just put that hammer down and give it hell._

Green cat like eyes watched the road as the Kenworth rolled down US Highway 84. Looking in the mirrors on occasion, the female trucker sang with the radio, completely engrossed in the song.

_East bound and down, loaded up and truckin',  
we're gonna do what they say can't be done.  
We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there.  
I'm east bound; just watch ol' "Bandit" run._

As the final bars of the song ended, a white flutter of material caught the trucker's eye. Unable to stop the big rig on a dime, the trucker threw on the Jake break and four-ways as the semi eased onto the shoulder of the road. A quarter mile later, the Kenworth rolled to a halt and the trucker pulled the trailer break to keep the truck from taking off.

Jumping from the cab of the truck, the trucker moved down the length of her 53' flat bed trailer and up the side of the road to where the white material fluttered in the wind. Checking both directions for oncoming traffic, the trucker sprinted across the road. Boot heals clicking a little staccato as the trucker ran to the object that lay in the median. What the trucker saw nearly caused her to be sick.

Bankotsu's mangled body lay on the side of the road, breathing weakly. His clothes were ripped, soaked in blood, with bits of flesh sticking on the sleeves. His normally strong and well built chest looked weak and deflated. A huge bruise circled his right eye paired with multiple bruises with purple stains on the exposed skin of his arms and sides and cuts covered his body. The long silky braid had worked loose of its bindings to become mangled and knotted. A thin stream of dried blood had trickled down to the corner of his mouth. From the position of his body his leg looked to be twisted in an unnatural position, suggesting that it was broken.

"Damn, buddy. You look pretty fucked up," a warm mezzo soprano voice mumbled as she moved her hand to Bankotsu's neck, hoping that she'd find a pulse.

Shaking her head in wonderment that he was still alive, the trucker looked once more toward the body of the stranger as she commented, "I'd hate to see how messed up the other guy is considering the beating you took." Gently she reached under his chest, to roll him onto his back so as to drag him back toward her truck. Grunting with the effort of just turning him, she looked once more to where her truck sat along side the highway.

"Damn it! I need help," she growled as she leaned back on her boot heals, knowing that the longer the injured stranger lay out in the afternoon sun the more likely he was to die of dehydration. Taking her flannel shirt off, exposing lean tanned arms and a light gray tank top over a lithe frame, she laid it over the stranger's bruised and battered face. "Here… you need this more than I do," she soothed before sprinting back to her truck.

She flung the door open as she scaled into her rig, only to be greeted by a warning growl from the bunk of her truck. "Not now Coda," she growled as she grabbed up her CB mic. She listened to the CB for a minute before she keyed the mic, "Break one- seven. This is Tempest and I need a 10-34, over."

Once she released the mic key, a few moments of silence was broken by a cackle of static and an answering tenor voice came over the line. "Break one-seven for Tempest. What's you're 20? Over."

Tempest's eyes searched the road side as she replied, "This is Tempest, and I'm south bound on US 84 about 8 miles south of Post, over." She looked in her driver side mirror, checking on the stranger as another semi pulled up behind her own rig. A curious look crossed her face as she put the mic away.

"Ten-four," was all that came over the CB before she jumped out of her truck.

Moving at a swift jog, Tempest's lean legs moved along the length of her truck as she took in the emerald green semi she heard the hiss of the trailer breaks. Once she reached the engine compartment of the semi, the driver's side door open. The black jean clad legs descended from the truck as Tempest recognized the driver and called out, "You're the one who answered my call?" she hadn't been expecting this guy, but was grateful none the less.

Blue eyes met green as the taller trucker looked at Tempest, taking in her tanned skin, high cheek bones and lush, naturally rosy lips. A lop sided grin crossed his lips as he replied; "You called for help?" his eyes thoroughly enjoying the saucy look he was getting from the female trucker. She'd always had a bit of feistiness in her which he enjoyed pushing her buttons because of. "It's been a long time Tempest," he stated.

"Obviously, though we need to hurry, and this isn't the time or place to reminisce Jeremiah," she replied slightly scolding him, as she moved quickly past the tall trucker, her eyes full of worry for the stranger down the road.

A quizzical look crossed the Good Samaritan's face as he followed her curvaceous backside up the side of his truck. "I thought that you needed help with your truck," he called out teasing her hoping to get a bigger rise out of her as he quickly followed her.

"You'd never catch me dead along the side of the road with a broke down truck," she yelled back as she looked for oncoming traffic before darting out across the road. Kneeling near the stranger once more, she lifted her flannel shirt, hearing a slight groan as the full light of the sun beat on his swollen face.

Darting after the strange girl, Jeremiah saw her kneeling near a body and really became worried. "Who the hell is that?" he asked as he got a bit closer, taking in the beaten to a pulp look of the stranger.

Thinking on her feet, unsure of just who the stranger was, Tempest lied, "He's a friend of mine and I need to get him back to my truck." Looking into her ex's worried eyes, she continued, "If we don't hurry he could die."

"Don't you think that we should call the authorities?" he asked, before moving closer toward the injured stranger, knowing she had a knack of helping wounded animals.

Slipping her hands gently under the legs of the injured man, Tempest replied, "No… they'd ask too many questions." With a shake of his head, Jeremiah grabbed up the stranger by the shoulders and on the count of three, they hurriedly crossed the highway.

Quickly they carried the unconscious man down the side of the road to the passenger side of Tempest's truck. Lowering the strangers' boot clad feet to the road's edge, Tempest opened up the passenger door, only to be nearly bowled over by a large black and tan German Shepard.

Grabbing the door for support, Tempest glared at her dog that had ran into the nearby scrub brush to relieve her self as she snapped, "Get back here Coda!" Turning her soft brown eyes toward her owner, the Shepard slunk back to where the truck was located, and sat quietly near the passenger side tire.

Seeing that her dog wasn't going to run out into traffic, Tempest entered the bunk, and unlatched the door, swinging it to where they could get the stranger onto her waiting bed. She jumped back down to the pavement and held the stranger upright as Jeremiah entered her truck. Within a few minutes, Bankotsu was laid out on his back across the bunk, bleeding slightly from wounds that had opened during his move. Tempest checked on him once more, making sure that he was comfortable.

After a few minutes, she moved back to the front of her truck, stepping out the passenger side to the road as Jeremiah asked, "What are you planning to do now?" his eye brow raised.

Helping Coda back into the truck, Tempest replied, "Drop my load and go from there." A quizzical look crossed her face as she thought about his question. Turning her attention to his ruggedly handsome face she asked, "Why do you care?"

Leaning toward the woman of his desires, Jeremiah lightly traced the line of her jaw, sending shivers down her spine as he replied huskily, "You're headed my way… I was just thinking… that you and I could… you know…"

"Make out like old times?" Tempest replied breathlessly as she fought the urges that raced through her lithe frame.

A smirk crossed his lips as he continued, "You read my mind." In a flash he descended upon her lips, crushing them as he kissed her, his hands moving over her body to come to rest lightly upon her hips, drawing her into his body.

Seconds seemed like hours before Tempest pushed against his chest, breaking the seal of their lips as she panted for air. "Not… this time…" she gasped between breaths of air. Pushing him further away as she slammed the passenger side door shut, Tempest continued, "We're over, Jeremiah. Nothing you can do or say will ever change that."

Pounding his fist onto the side of her truck in frustration, Jeremiah replied harshly, "Why not? Why can't we go back to the way things were Tempest?" He followed her around the front of the truck to the driver's side door. Wishfully he watched her curvaceous rear end as she climbed into the cab.

Reaching out to grab her door handle, Tempest sighed as she replied, having quelled most of the fire in her gut, "You know why, Jeremiah."

Refusing to let go of the drivers' side door, as Tempest tried to pull it shut, Jeremiah asked, rather softly as his blue eyes searched her equally hurting green ones, "Can't you just try to give us a chance?"

Closing her eyes to his penetrating gaze, she replied, "No… not this time." With a quick jerk, catching her old flame off guard, she slammed the door shut as she slammed the trailer brakes off and moved onto the high way. Jeremiah watched as her rig moved out of sight before he pulled his cell phone from his back pocket.

He quickly flipped it open and dialed a number as he walked back toward his own rig. As the phone on the other end picked up, all Jeremiah said was, "I've found him," before he hung up.

A few hours later, after Tempest dropped off her trailer load of wood, she backed her rig into a parking spot in front of a hotel room. Palming the key card, Tempest eased out of her truck, knowing that the worse was yet to come. She opened the door to her bunk, grabbing a large black duffle bag as Coda nuzzled her leg, whining slightly. Looking toward the dog, she soothed, "Give me a few minutes… would you?"

Shaking her head slightly, Tempest understood the dog's actions, feeling the hunger pangs wrack her stomach as well. After she slung the bag over her shoulder, she headed to the door directly behind her truck, sliding the key card before turning the door knob. Once she turned the light on in the double bed hotel room, Tempest tossed her bag on the bed farthest from the door. Looking around, she saw that the hardest part had just raised its handsome head.

A loud groan resonated from the open door of the bunk, causing Tempest to rush back to the truck, climbing up the side as she peered into the dimly lit compartment. The stranger had rolled onto his injured side from his previously flat position. She looked at his beaten and battered face as her fingers grasped the hem of his pant legs, and booted feet, pulling him as hard as she could from the bunk. Easing him as best she could to his feet, supporting most of his weight across her shoulders as she practically dragged him into the room. Luckily she was fairly strong and didn't have that far to go.

With a grunt, Tempest laid him out as best she could across the bed as Coda looked up at her from her spot on the other bed, her head resting against the black duffle bag. As she caught her breath, Tempest looked closer at the wayward stranger, noticing for the first time the muscular toned arms as her eyes wandered from his blood covered hands to the tattered shirt.

"_What the hell happened_?" she thought as she moved toward his legs, gently picking up one booted foot, pulling it and the blood soaked sock off before moving to the other and doing the same. Her eyes wandered up the blood drenched jeans, barely realizing that they had been blue at one point in time through the black stains. She eased onto the bed beside his still unconscious body.

Quickly her fingers worked at the stiff leather belt that held the pants to his waist. Once the buckle was removed, she undid the button fly of his jeans, struggling with the blood stiffened denim before she was able to ease them down his body. Keeping her eyes on the pants as she removed them, Tempest nearly gagged on the stench that rolled from the injured body.

Once the jeans had been completely removed, trying to quell the urge to vomit what little was left in her stomach; Tempest threw them into the garbage can. Moving the can closer to the bed, she looked upon the half clad stranger, her stomach lurched, and causing her to run into the bathroom as the contents of her rebellious stomach broke for freedom.

After a few minutes of leaning over the porcelain god, a wet nose nuzzled her arm as a whimper of worry sounded from her concerned dog. Looking over at her companion, Tempest replied, "I'm okay, Coda. Go back to watching him." With a slight bark in acknowledgement, Coda moved back out into the main room as Tempest flushed the toilet containing her liberated contents and washed her face of the remains.

With a renewed sense of purpose, armed with clean towels and the first aid kit from her truck, Tempest approached the half naked stranger. Once she saw the wounds on his legs, she quickly got to work, cleaning the blood from around his wounds with Betadine, pouring peroxide into the wounds to clean out any infection before she wrapped them in gaze. A couple of the gun shot wounds she came across, Tempest probed slightly, removing a couple of bullet fragments that had flaked off when he'd been grazed as well as a bullet from his upper thigh, thankful he'd been shot with hollow points instead of full metal jackets.

Holding her breath as best she could, Tempest realized that most likely he'd soiled himself, considering the amount of damage he'd taken and the stench coming from his pelvic area. "_I hope that he doesn't expect me to give him a fucking sponge bath_," she thought sorely as she moved to his torso and the once white blood encrusted tee shirt.

Pulling her Buck knife from its sheath at her hip, Tempest made quick work of the bloody remains. Easing the remains from his body, throwing them into the trash with the jeans and socks, her eyes wandered over the well toned chest. Her breath hitched in her throat as her eyes landed upon his right shoulder. Gently almost as if in worship her fingers traced the tattoo of the stranger, who didn't seem all that strange anymore as she continued to look at the image embolden on his arm. A sign of strength power and scarred with a line of blood. Though no words adorn the famed halberd, the only word that came to her lips resonated in her mind, "_Banryu."_

The stranger shivered slightly in the cold room, drawing Tempest back to the situation at hand. She dressed his wounds as best she could as she dug out the bullet from his back that had luckily only gone a little ways in. Within a half hour of starting her gruesome task, Tempest washed her hands of the stranger's blood, having covered him as best she could. She dried her hands and dug through her own duffle bag in search of a clean set of cloths, wanting to be rid of the stench of blood. Pulling out Coda's dog dish and a can of food she quickly fed her dog as she heated the water in the shower.

As the dog downed the canned food, Tempest check the locks on the door, making sure it was secure before she slipped out of her blood blacked jeans, throwing them into the garbage bag as well as her tank top and sport bra before she stalked toward the now warm shower. Tempest leaned against the back wall of the shower as the days events flooded through her mind. "_Who is he? Why does he have gramp's tattoo_?" kept roving as she quickly washed her hair and the rest of her body, ridding herself of the stench of his blood and excrement.

Once she'd cleaned herself at least three times to be rid of the stench, Tempest stepped out of the shower, and dried off as she moved from the bathroom to her bed, oblivious of the sleeping stranger in the bed across from her. Quickly she threw on a pair of loose fitting shorts and tank top before she pulled her shoulder length blond hair back into a pony tail. As she slipped into a pair of running shoes, Tempest looked at her loyal companion as she said, "Watch over him and don't let anyone else in here."

Knowing that Coda was as vicious as she was loyal toward strangers, other than those she was commanded to protect, Tempest grabbed up the garbage bag of clothes and tied it shut as she moved back toward her truck, locking it in the tool box before heading to the Wal-mart store that was across the street from her hotel.

Bankotsu walked down a darkened corridor, his hands trembling as he turned a corner. Blood slicked floors were littered with bodies as he eased closer to the action. He stumbled in the dimly lit hallway, his hand against a warm slick chest that struggled to breath, blood trailing down an open mouth, calling out his name in agony. Looking into the violet eyes of his beloved brother and fellow comrade, Bankotsu gasped as he saw him lying in a pool of blood. The marks upon his face contrasted sharply with his pale, blood drained complexion.

"Jak," he murmured as unwanted tears eased into his eyes. "Who did this to you?" The man just gasped trying to utter a word, only to be cut short by the roar of a gun. Brains, blood and the back of his skull, splattered Bankotsu as he looked from the dead form of his brother to the smoking gun aimed at his head.

"You," he seethed, only to see a wicked gleam of pearly white teeth in the form of a grotesque smile on the hidden face of the killer. As he lunged toward the executioner a final shot rang out, and he landed mere inches from the man of his torment. Pain raced through his body, awakening the dreaming man into a scream of terror.


	3. Chapter 3

Checking in on the Band of Seven with their new leader.

Disclaimer- I don't own the characters, save my own OCs and the plot, nor do I own the songs used/mentioned. I also don't make any money from this story.

Please remember to read, review, and enjoy!

I'd also like to thank my co-author Black-Banryu for his continued support on this project.

* * *

Chapter 3- Meanwhile…

The new Leader of the Band of Seven stared at the traitors who had cowardly run in battle from the Rojo Lobos, as they held their hands up in surrender, losing any and all hope of escape from Renkotsu. The members of the gang held their guns out threatening them.

"Please don't!" one pleaded.

"We won't run again!! We'll do whatever you want!! Just please spare us!!" others shouted in hopes of swaying the new leader.

Renkotsu glared aloofly at them all. "Kill them." he ordered coldly. Hundreds of bullets whooshed past him, burying themselves in the coward's flesh, as blood splashed out all over the concrete.

Turning back to the remaining squads of faithful and wounded members of his gang, he called out, "Let this be a lesson, you run… you die. It's that simple." His eyes wandered over the faces that remained stoic through the spray of bullets and blood before he began to walk away for the stench. "I've got a date with a tattoo," he leered as he left the complex, hearing another barrage of bullets that eliminated another batch of unfaithful subordinates.

Suikotsu held out his stethoscope as the little boy shivered from the harsh coldness of its touch. He smiled warmly. "It all checks out. He's in perfect health Ms. Mc Kinley," he said, reaching into his pocket and handing the kid a lolly-pop as he grabbed it eagerly.

Doctor Suikotsu Aethos smiled as he handed the mother some papers as he left the room, waiting for one of the nurses to finish the appointment. As he signed something he over heard two of the staff whispering, so he moved a bit closer to hear what was being said.

"Oh that poor man in 216..." The older one said trembling.

"What happened?" a much younger and perkier one asked.

The older nurse sighed, "He was apparently in some gang fight and got 3rd degree burns all over his body. Doctors think he won't be able to even speak anymore, so police can't question him. I feel so sorry for him…"

Suikotsu eyed past them not thinking anything to him self, simply hearing the words, as he started to walk down the hallway, holding a stern gaze as he slowly crept to the door of room 216 open, and locked it behind him. The completely motionless man lay on the bed; his eyes looked directly at the cold doctor. Suikotsu slowly walked over ominously and raised the man's arm up, cringing when he saw the tattoo of the Rojo Lobos.

"You should have stayed dead," he said, revealing a huge syringe from his pocket. As he removed the protective cap, Suikotsu flicked the container itself, squeezing the end as a bit of dark yellow liquid squirted out.

"This won't be pleasant," he smirked, pulling out the IV, none to gently as blood strung out, before injecting the serum into the man with ferocity. Suikotsu watched the man try and writhe in agony as the venom spread through his blood, and his already red and browned body grew purple from its toxicity.

The man moved his eyes back and forth, trying to do anything to get help, be saved.

Suikotsu simply stood over him and watched, as his eyes pierced the man, watching the effects of the poison destroying him quickly. Thanks to Mukotsu's ingeniousness it would all look like a drug mix up. Suikotsu harshly pet the man's head, staring him down with anger, and left the room, knowing that he would be dead in a few more minutes.

He got back, took the chart the nurse handed him, and smiled at his next appointment, acting as if nothing had ever happened. "_I love my job_," he thought with a smirk as he walked past the dead man's door, knowing that a 'code blue' would be called soon, that he'd rush to the door, only to pronounce the man dead.

"No! No! You can't fucking do this to me you fucking shit head freak! I never agreed to this! He's not my friend. I don't even know the asshole. He did it 'cause he hates guys like me. I don't fucking want this!" the stray gang member pleaded.

"Are you shitting me?" Renkotsu demanded. "You signed up with the Band of Seven. And now you say you don't want in?" he continued while shaking his head.

Kyokotsu was breathing through clenched teeth, but relaxed a little bit. "If you hadn't run away like a coward you'd be dead from the Rojo Lobos already. Though, my fucking boot will ensure you don't live much longer. I don't have time to deal with shits like you backing out," Kyokotsu seethed. "You got the tattoo and it said if you didn't cooperate I get to take any measures necessary to deal with you." The giant bent down and the enormous, black boot quickly moved into position over the gang member, pinning him down.

With a sickening squish and crunching noises as Kyokotsu ground his boot from side to side, a blood curdling scream was cut horrifically short. He pressed the boot down harder and harder. Once he was satisfied with his handy work, he moved his boot revealing a contorted mess with part of it stuck to his boot sole and the other part stuck to the concrete. The half stuck to the floor bore the tread pattern of Kyokotsu's boot.

With a yawn Renkotsu commented, "I hate traitors like him."

A few hours later, aching slightly from his new 'addition' Renkotsu moved toward an ordinary looking house which music blared through the walls. As he got closer, Renkotsu recognized the acid rock that Mukotsu favored over all other. Shaking his head, he thought, "It's a damn wonder that the cops haven't beat down his door for disturbing the peace." By then a few cars drove by blaring their music to the max, drowning the acid rock of Mukotsu's place easily.

With a shake of his head he moved quickly through the gate that was the only way through the three foot rose bushes meticulously surrounding the home. He hated the sickly sweet smell of the flowers, though he noticed that currently they hid the smell of what Mukotsu was cooking in the 'basement.' A sly smile crossed his lips as he continued through the front door, nearly getting deafened by the sounds of 'Cannibal Corpse' before he made his way to the basement door near the back of the house.

Below, in a sound proof basement, Mukotsu whistled along with the mellow back ground music as he continued cutting into the struggling body lying against a metal table. As he dipped the blood bedewed blade once more into the heaving mass of entrails, organs and soft tissue, his soft tenor sang out, "Eager young lads, and roués and cads will offer you food and wine." The squirming youth made guttural noises, the equivalent as a scream as his internal organs were wickedly and harshly ripped from his body.

"Totally unprepared are you, to face a world of men," Mukotsu continued as he set the blade aside, delving with both blood covered hands into the open cavity to remove the quivering blood dripping liver, letting the victim see it before passing out, over come with shock.

Clicking his tongue, Mukotsu shook his head as he commented, "Too bad he passed out… now I'll have no audience to my wonderful singing," as he placed the liver into a bowl that already contained other organs of various victims.

"You think too highly of yourself," Renkotsu replied as he moved down the stairs, seeing that half dozen Rojo Lobos gang members lay about the basement in various stages of tortured sleep.

"Have you come to watch me work?" he asked coyly, knowing that it was an honor to have the new leader watching his lowly work. As he waited for an answer, Mukotsu delved back into the unconscious man's body making quick work of his kidneys and sections of his small intestine.

Looking over the various containers of organs, chemicals and vials of stuff that he didn't want to know about, Renkotsu replied, "I'm here of my own accord, Mukotsu. I'd heard of your talented fingers and wanted to see them first hand. Is that a crime?"

Turning back toward the counter of containers, Mukotsu grabbed up the chemicals and vials dumping them into the open cavity as Renkotsu looked on, a vile gleam in his eyes as the concoction spread through out the body. "What will that do?" he asked as Mukotsu took a nasty looking needle and thread from the table and began to sew up the gaping chest wound he'd created.

"Oh that… that little concoction will bubble and boil and when he gets back to his buddies… BOOM!!! No more Rojo Lobos!" he laughed wickedly as he finished sewing up his 'patient.' Unable to hold back his own laugh, Renkotsu roared out the vilest evil laugh he possessed. With the death of Bankotsu, the utter destruction of the lower ranks of the Rojo Lobos and the smell of death and decay in the air, Renkotsu was on top of the world, enjoying his position of power and loving every minute of it.

Jakotsu glared death at the computer screen before him. "Who the hell is this bitch that her DMV record won't come up?" he demanded. Slamming his hands in frustration on the keyboard once more, he typed in everything he knew of the blond haired, green-eyed trucker he could think of as he tried his best to hack into the Department of Motor Vehicles website. He'd watched from a distance as she'd stopped to help his fallen leader and heard her call for help over the CB. With the use of high powered binoculars he'd been able to get the license plate from the truck, but was only able to get only so far before road blocks were thrown into his way.

When 'Access Denied' graced his screen once more, he threw back his chair, causing it to skitter across the floor before crashing soundly into the wall. His roar of frustration shook the windows for he was afraid that now he'd doomed his friend. "Why… why did Renkotsu have to stage this coup? Why did I just leave my best friend along side the road?" he mumbled as he beat his head against the wall. "Now I don't even know where in hell he's at. Just that some bitch picked him up named 'Tempest' and that the truck is registered to some trucking company called Rellway Trucking that doesn't even seem to exist."

Calmed from his sudden outburst, due to a thought of inspiration, Jak quickly grabbed up his chair and stabbed at the keyboard. Maliciously he stalked the web, his fingers doing the killing of the websites that he searched, finally finding the jewel that he sought. His violet eyes glimmered with joy as he saw the evidence of the nonexistent company. "I've found you," he practically purred as he delved once more into the website, trying his best to hack the firewalls and back doors of the heavily secured site.

Renkotsu sighed for the thousandth time as the groans of pain and mumbled screams reached his ears from the oversized passenger van his second in command, Ginkotsu Gioss, drove toward the seedier parts of the city. Looking back over his shoulder at the heap of bodies in various stages of pain and death, Renkotsu grinned devilishly as he thought of the toxins and poisons that bubbled and boiled through the bodies of the men mixing together into the most horrific torture possible.

Ginkotsu looked over at his leader, admiration in his eyes as he asked, "How much longer do we have?"

Looking once more over his shoulder, Renkotsu replied, "Mukotsu said that when they start turning a nice shade of yellow with blood pouring out of their eyes, that we'd better just kiss our asses goodbye." Turning back toward the road, he continued, "I'd say about 10 minutes until we hit the warehouse district. Turn these rodents loose and they'll go crawling home. That's when the fun begins." A feral smile crossed his lips as he thought of the amount of chaos the walking time bombs were about to inflict on the greater masses of the Rojo Lobos.

Renkotsu was taking great pleasure in the destruction of their closest rivals, lead by a quartet of mutts who he'd detested almost as much as his rival Bankotsu. "_This should give them a reminder of which gang is in charge here_," he thought as they pulled up to a dilapidated warehouse that looked as if it were to fall under a light breeze.

As Ginkotsu practically threw the gang bangers out of his van, those that could run sprinted toward the darkness, screaming their tongue removed muffled way into the distance. Those that couldn't move were dragged into the ally, left to die and cause as much damage as possible in their final brief minutes of existence. Watching the placement of the bodies near the seemingly vacant building, Renkotsu chuckled as he saw a flicker of movement from some of the other buildings. "The rats have returned to their nests and now the fun begins!" he called out to Ginkotsu, drawing him back into the van so that they could move to a safe distance.

About a block from the drop off, Ginkotsu pulled his van around to watch the warehouse where they had deposited the human bombs. "Any minute now," Renkotsu commented as he looked at his watch. With baited breath, the duo watched as the fireworks were about to begin, only to be interrupted by the ringing of Renkotsu's phone. Pulling the phone from his pocket, Renkotsu flipped it open as he demanded, "What do you want?"

As the disembodied voice came through the phone the horrified screeches of pain, confusion, and gunfire rang out into the night as the explosions commenced like the cannon fire of the 1812 overture. "I'll have to call you back," Renkotsu shouted into the phone before cutting off the caller and shoving the phone back into his pocket. Turning toward his next in command, Renkotsu ordered, "Don't let them get away!" as he pointed haphazardly toward the fleeing gang members that had not been treated by Mukotsu.

"Grr," Ginkotsu replied as he shoved his modified van into gear, flipping a few toggles and switches that revealed some artillery mounted to the roof and sides of his vehicle. A wicked smile crossed both of their faces as the van roared to life, accelerating toward the confused Rojo Lobos, opening fire on the already chaotic scene. A few of the fleeing members were able to get a shot or two off, only to be deflected by the bullet proof glass and thick armor of the van.

Once they made a few more passes, killing as many grunts as they could, Ginkotsu headed back home, as Renkotsu pulled his phone out of his pocket once more. He stabbed at the numbers of the unidentified caller, having pulled it from caller id. By the time they'd made it back to the Band of Seven's head quarters, Renkotsu was practically purring in his contentment, a smile across his lips of the juicy information that he'd just received.

"Kyokotsu, I want you to go to this address and bring back Bankotsu's head," he commanded as he handed his oversized henchman a piece of paper. "Don't fail me."

The dense man looked at the paper a minute, processing the information as he said, "His head… I think I can do that," as a kind of hunger crossed his mind, a hunger that would only be sedated with the taste of human flesh. "So I can have what's left?" he asked.

"Do as you like with the rest, just bring me proof that he's dead," Renkotsu replied, as he shook off the implications of Kyokotsu's request.

A huge grin crossed the giant's face as he left the building, heading toward the directions eager for the meal he was about to eat.


	4. Chapter 4

Okay... sorry for the delay. Here's the next installment of SOSM. I've had some personal issues that resulted in it's delay, mainly a bit of writers block mixed with a slight alteration of my normal work schedule. I'd love to thank my wonderful Co-author and MMA for helping smooth over part of the chapter Black-Banryu! I couldn't have done it without your help and guidance.

Not much to say about the chapter, though I don't claim the statement by Samuel Clemons that's mentioned... rephrased yes, claim it no. Wonder what's going through Tempest's mind as she's cleaning up the mess that is Bankotsu... Guess that you're going to have to read and find out.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Inuyasha, just my own OC, the plot and ideas. I make no money from this, just the profits of gaining a vaster literature perspective.

Hope that you enjoy this as much as I have in writing it. Please read and review. Thanks.

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Chapter 4- The Rivals

Koga Deacero glared out the window of the headquarters of the Rojo Lobos. His blue eyes harden in frustration at having been played by Renkotsu. He leaned against the frame, his arm braised above his head as he worked his fingers into a fist, digging his nails into the palm of his hand, drawing blood. "_Damn him… what the hell was I thinking_?" he berated himself as he heard the duo of equally pissed voices behind him.

"We should have taken that bastard out ourselves when we had the chance," the irate tenor of Inuyasha Colmillo shattered what little resolve Koga had left.

Whirling toward the silver haired officer, Koga snapped, "Because he came here under a flag of truce. That's why we didn't blow his ass sky high," poking his finger into the younger man's chest. "If that was the only thing the ol' man taught me it was to never stab someone in the back under a truce."

"True, except that he didn't reciprocate that truce," Sesshomaru pointed out, drawing the blue eyed glare from his younger brother to his own person. "He murdered over two hundred of our lackeys without batting an eye between the fire fight and the captives that we found slaughtered in the warehouse district as well as the ones that had been gunned down in the streets, by only seven men, mind you. Renkotsu Feuer is not a man to be trusted, Koga."

Dropping his gaze to the floor, his mind reeling at the losses, Koga replied softly, "I should never have agreed to helping over throw Bankotsu."

"No, you shouldn't have what were you thinking?" Inuyasha ground out as he pulled a cigarette from his mouth. "That was a decision that should have been made by all three of us instead of just you."

Glaring at the irritant mongrel, Koga snarled, "Don't you think that I know that? He came to me out of the blue, pressuring me for an immediate answer. I never thought that he'd double cross us like this or that he had his own agenda."

"That is why there are three leaders of the Rojo Lobos, Koga," Sesshomaru's smooth baritone sounded over his shoulder. "So that we can look at all the aspects of the opportunity, weigh the benefits and the costs in a logical manner. Though I've wanted to take down the Band of Seven myself, for other reasons, of course, I don't deny that opportunity was too good to pass up."

A smirk crossed Koga's face at the bit of insight into the stoic façade of the elder Colmillo. "_So… he wants their heads on a pole just as badly as I do?_" he thought as he looked once more back out over the city his mind planning their next move to recoup some of their losses.

Bankotsu awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed before his body registered the pain that he'd just put it through. Wounds that had barely scabbed over broke open, tearing the fragile edges of the skin that had just begun to heal. A scream of pain slipped across his lips as he fell back once more against the white sheets and pillow easing the blinding agony to a dull roaring ache.

A howl sounded out as Coda joined Bankotsu's scream, causing him to turn his head toward the sound of the dog. His eyes widened slightly to see the German Shepard gazing contently at him from the next bed, lying protectively over a black duffle bag. "_What the hell?_" he thought as he rolled slowly onto his side, taking care not to make any sudden movements.

Coda followed the stranger with curious eyes, knowing what Tempest had said; she kept her eyes on the stranger as he moved gingerly from the bed, leaning heavily on the furniture. She whimpered slightly as he moved toward the bathroom, moving her body to where she could continue her vigil. Nosing the air, Coda could smell the fresh blood and whined once more, knowing that Tempest wasn't going to be happy with his movements while she was gone.

Ban leaned heavily against the sink, staring at the reflection of him self in the mirror. What he saw nearly made his blood curdle as he saw the puce, purple-blackened eye socket with the reddened eye; numerous cuts crossed his once handsome face as well as his shattered lip. He moved slightly to look at his right shoulder only to be deterred by the expertly wrapped bandage that covered most oh his upper arm. "Shit… that fucker did this?" Ban seethed as he took a closer look at his wrapped limbs, chest and shoulder. He could feel the same tight bandages covering his legs, chaffing as he moved just the little bit from the bed.

Realizing that this definitely wasn't his brother's usual hang out, nor his own home, Bankotsu turned gingerly toward the room, taking in the dog, duffle bag and other standard motel stuff. He moved toward the duffle bag, only to be greeted with a low growl and raised lips. Taking the hint to 'back off' Bankotsu moved away from the double bed, back toward the sink as he caught a whiff of his own body.

"_Damn, that's rank_," he thought as he eased toward the bathroom one last time, ridding him self of the remains of his clothes. Throwing the offending garment into the nearest garbage bin, Bankotsu eased into the bath tub as he started the water for the shower head. Getting just the right temperature, he stood up gingerly as he worked the water through his hair, washing the dirt and dried blood from its length as well as the knots and tangles. The water flowed down his body, eased the tightness from his battered muscles as he rinsed the shampoo from his hair.

By the end of his shower, his shoulders ached from not having been used for some time and the bandages had been thoroughly soaked. Most of the major wounds had bled through and needed to be re-bandaged, but he was cut short of those thoughts as he exited the bathroom as the hotel door swung open.

Tempest walked into the room, juggling the bag of clothes and the hotel key as she looked up, getting an eye full of tan chiseled bandage covered chest and a white towel wrapped about the waist. She pulled her eyes from the tanned chest to the face of the man she'd saved, an utter look of horrid shock upon his face.

"What the hell…" he started to say only as Tempest realized that she was standing with the door still open. Quickly she threw the bag onto the bed closest to the door as she whirled the door shut, the loud click of the dead bolt ringing in her ears.

In the beat of a heart, she was slammed back first into the door, his left forearm pressed firmly into her throat. She glared into the blue eyes of the stranger, her hands balled into fists as she seethed at his actions. As he pressed his full weight into her lithe frame, Tempest's anger flew into a rage. On pure instinct, she used the leverage of his own body to throw him away from her, as she grabbed at the knife at her back.

Seeing the stranger move in an aggressive manner toward her owner, Coda leaped from her post on the bed, putting herself between the two combatants, snarling and growling in warning. Bankotsu landed heavily against the bed, his ribs aching as a fresh reminder that he was not to full strength.

"Damn wench! That fucking hurt!" he snapped as he eased his way back into an upright position.

With her knife held in a defensive position, held out toward Bankotsu, but not far enough to where he could disarm her, without a fight,Tempest ground out between clenched teeth, "No shit Sherlock! Why else do you think you're covered in bandages?"

Moving to sit on the edge of the bed, leaning heavily against his legs, exhausted from his brief exertion, Bankotsu looked once more at the feisty female and her protector. Feeling the pains of a headache coming on, he commented, "Could you call off the dog?" moving his head into his hands.

Seeing that he wasn't in any condition to continue the fight, Tempest replied, "Only if you'll put some clothes on," turning her gaze away from the open towel about his waist. She put a gentle hand upon Coda's raised hackles at her neck as she said, "Stand down."

Coda responded to the command by moving into a sitting position at Tempest's feet as she slipped her knife back into its sheath. Slowly, still unsure of his reaction to her presence, Tempest moved toward the bag of clothes, rummaging through them to pull out a new shirt and pants for the guy on the bed.

Tossing them toward Bankotsu she said softly, "Here… I guessed at your size since yours were pretty messed up. If they don't fit I can take them back."

Looking toward the clothes that now lay at his side, seeing the tags still attached to the garments he said in almost a whisper, "You didn't have to do that you know. You could have just left me lay."

"Yeah right," Tempest retorted as she moved toward her own bed, digging through her duffle bag once more. "You were in need of help and I did just that, helped you." She looked over her shoulder at the dark haired man, her green eyes boring into his back as she continued, "If I'd have left you there, buster, you would have been dead."

"Why… Why the hell would you help a complete stranger?" he demanded, turning his hard piercing gaze toward the woman. His eyes wandered over her lithe frame, noting the slight muscular definition of her arms and legs as revealed by her blue tank and shorts. Only to be drawn to the slumped shoulders and gentle shake of her back as she tried to stifle her emotions.

Cut deeply by his words, tears came to her eyes as she thought about what he asked. Turning her equally hardened eyes toward the stranger she replied, "Unlike others, I fucking care about people. Despite the shit that I've gone through that's hardened me, I still care about those that can't help themselves." Quickly she grabbed up her duffle bag, slinging it over her shoulder as she motioned for Coda to her side.

As she moved toward the door, walking past Bankotsu, she looked at him and said in a mere whisper, "Feel free to stay the night. I'll just get out of here since you're obviously not interested in any help."

Before her hand even reached the handle of the door, a huge foot slammed into the thick metal door, shattering the wood that held the door in place. Caught by the edge of the falling door, Tempest lay sprawled under the door, her cheek quickly darkening from where she'd been hit. Bankotsu turned toward the now open door, his eyes blazing in anger at the hulking man that blocked what little light remained of the day. Coda stood over her mistress as she held her ground, hackles rose as a deep throated snarl sounded in the enclosed room.

Kyokotsu glared at his former boss as he stepped into the room, his large booted feet crushing Tempest as he moved into the room, oblivious of the lump under the door. A wicked sneer crossed his lips as he advanced toward the bed as he commented, "I seem to recall that you were supposed to be dead."

Moving as fast as his wounded body would allow, Bankotsu moved away from the bed, backing toward the bathroom as he replied, "Rumors of my death were severely exaggerated. I see that you're taking orders from some one else now."

"Yeah, Renkotsu sends his regards," the giant darkly chuckled, taking another step toward Bankotsu, only to have the large German Shepard attack. Coda jumped from her spot next to Tempest toward the thick corded neck. Her jaws wrapped around his raised arm instead as he'd moved to strike the dog down. Refusing to relinquish her hold on the meaty arm, Coda continued to growl deep in her throat, infuriating Kyokotsu. With a cruel twist of his arm, Kyokotsu tossed the 70 pound dog around like a rag doll, pounding her several times against the wall to loosen her grip.

Bankotsu watched the one-sided fight cautiously as he crept toward the door. The towel that had hanged loose around his waist had been quickly replaced with a pair of jeans that he'd slipped into. He glanced at the feminine body beneath the door, nearly crushed by Kyokotsu's strength. As he moved over the beds toward his only means of escape, Tempest had begun to stir nervously when the door was lifted.

Quickly he pulled her to her feet, fearing for her safety, noticing the bruises that'd begun to show along the side of her body that had been struck by the door. "Come on," he ground out between clenched teeth, as they started to run.

A sickening crunch and a yowl of pain drew the couple back to the fight at hand. Tempests eyes flared wide as she saw the slumped body of her beloved companion thrown harshly across the bed, her rib cage badly crushed and unresponsive. "You Bastard!!" she screamed in rage, her eyes lit with fire.

She launched her lithe frame into the more massive mountain of a man, with the intent to kill. Without much effort, the back of his hand charged into her body. Kyokotsu flung the wench into the opposing wall, causing her to land heavily into the wall with a groan.

The giant turned his eyes toward Bankotsu as he sneered, "Your luck's run out Banky boy," as he cracked his massive knuckles.

"I doubt that Kyokotsu. You forget that I lead on sheer strength," Bankotsu replied, his hardened eyes sparkling with mirth as he looked toward his former comrade.

Cracking his neck in a threatening manner, Kyokotsu chuckled, "You keep forgetting you never stood a chance against me, even at full strength," as he closed the distance between the two, blood running in rivers down his injured arm.

Without warning, Kyokotsu reached out a massive paw, swatting Bankotsu heavily into the wall, reopening wounds that had barely started to heal yet again. Looking up from the floor, fresh blood trickling from his lip, flames leapt into the young mercenary's eyes. His hand found the hilt of Tempest's knife, which had fallen in the initial attack. With the hilt in his hand, roughly unsheathing the blade, Bankotsu roared in anger as he shot from the ground toward the massive man.

Seeing the attack coming, Kyokotsu leaned into the rush, allowing the knife to strike the thick corded muscles of his shoulder as he grabbed in one massive hand the throat of his attacker. A wicked sneer crossed his lips as he pulled back his massive fist of the injured arm, smashing it soundly into Bankotsu's gut, with a crunch. He dropped the groaning mass onto the floor, kicking it quite soundly a few times for the fun of it.

As he pulled the hilt of the knife from his shoulder, Kyokotsu snorted, "Big, bad Bankotsu… looks like you're nothing but a roach that needs to be ground out of your misery." Lifting one heavy booted foot to emphasize his point, Kyokotsu moved over the struggling form of his former employer. A blood filled grin filled his face as he brought his clad foot down onto the soft body of his victim, only to be stopped, dead in his tracks.

A strange look of confusion crossed the giant's face as a second report from the Kel-Tec .380 ACP barked a second time. Blood erupted like a fountain as the Hydra-shock bullet excited the front of his skull, spreading gray matter all over the beige walls. In the space of a heart beat, Kyokotsu turned his head, to stare at the wielder of the handgun that had killed him.

The heavy scent of sulfur lay thick in the air as Tempest glared at the mountain of a man. "You killed my dog," she snarled as she lowered the weapon.

A whiff of air blew through the open door, tumbling the dead giant over, sprawled across the floor as blood pooled underneath his body. Tempest turned toward the carcass of her beloved companion, petting the dog once before she removed the collar. Moving past the crumpled form of Bankotsu toward her truck, Tempest cried as she opened the truck's door. After a few minutes of grief, she regained her composure and picked up her cell phone.

Her fingers flew over the buttons, dialing the number by instinct as her heart sank at her loss. When a welcoming 'Hello' sounded from the other end, Tempest replied, "Koga… I'm in trouble."

A good ten minutes later, having finished her phone call, Tempest slipped once more from her truck, hanging on for dear life to the door as the weight of what had happened finally took its toll. Tears streamed down her face as she sank slowly onto the steps of her truck. With the day's events cascading through her mind, all Tempest could do was take solace in the fact that this was her last trip for the fall.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Tempest moved back toward the nearly demolished hotel room, her arms across her chest, more for self comfort than for warmth. As she neared the splintered doorway, her reddened swollen eyes wandered over the remains of the giant that she'd killed. The memory of the blood filled grin caused a shudder down her spine. Her eyes moved around the room once more, stopping for a brief moment upon the unmoving body of her beloved dog. Fresh tears rimmed her eyes as the fresh memories flooded through her mind. Turning away, her gaze fell upon the one man who seemed to be at the crux of it all.

Bankotsu had moved once more to the bed curled around the agonizing pain that racked his body. An arm lay uselessly against his side, the bones askew as a grave reminder of their torment. Breathing came raggedly as the muscles moved over the cracked and broken ribs. He turned his head slightly toward the sound of footsteps, taking in the even more haggard appearance of the woman who'd saved him yet again.

Standing near the edge of the bed, seeing that the bandages were practically dripping with blood, Tempest glared at the mercenary. With her arms still crossed she demanded, "What the fuck is going on?"

Taking a deep ragged breath, Bankotsu turned as much as he dared toward the irate woman, cringing in pain as he tried to speak, "That was Kyokotsu… of the Band… of Seven. He was sent… to kill me."

A brief moment of shock crossed her flaming eyes at the mention of the Band of Seven, before it was replaced with even more hatred. "_It was because of them that Gramps had died!_" she though angrily, digging her nails into the skin of her arm.

Bankotsu closed his eyes as a fresh wave of pain coursed through his body, as a hacking cough overtook his muscular frame. Drawn back to the present by the injured stranger's agony, Tempest moved once more toward his body, slowly removing the blood soaked bandages, cleansing the wounds, probing for broken bones and such before the cavalry arrived.


	5. Chapter 5

Next installment of the 'Story of Seven Men' story. I will say in advance that I'm truly sorry for the extended delay in the posting of this chapter. Due to some extenuating circumstances earlier this year, as well as a major case of writer's block, I've neglected this wonderful story. I hope that those who've read the previous chapters enjoy this one. It's full of intrigue, drama and a hint of romance. I'd like to thank my wondrous co-author Black-Banryu for looking this over before posting.

Please remember to read, review and enjoy!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Inuyasha, just my own OC, the plot and ideas. I make no money from this, just the profits of gaining a vaster literature perspective.

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Chapter 5- Cooperation

Roars of anger rolled through the Band of Seven headquarters as the news of Kyokotsu's death reached Renkotsu. He slammed his fist against his over desk as the reports from various subordinates continued to pile upon his desk. Various body parts of his comrade had shown up at locations all over city for the past few days. The most damning evidence of his death was the package that currently sat upon his desk. A box with his severed head and a note from the Rojo Lobos for having double crossed them.

"Insolent bastards," he sniveled under his breath, as he slammed his hand once more against his hard wood desk, causing the papers to spill onto the floor as Jakotsu moved through the door, supporting more boxes and packages of various sizes.

Looking around the stack of boxes, he asked, "What's the problem, Renkotsu?" still a bit apprehensive of his new boss, considering that he'd helped the old one escape.

"Those damn mutts from the Rojo Lobos just declared war on us!" he seethed as he saw the packages. "Take those down to the incinerator… the stench is getting quite offensive in here."

"Yes sir," Jakotsu replied, thankful to have an excuse to leave the office once held by his brother.

Turning his attention back to the note in his hand, Renkotsu's steel gray eyes hardened even more as he saw the last line, 'death be on you and those that follow your lead.' It was written in blood. Kyokotsu's, he assumed, though he didn't know where Ginkotsu was either. "Why are they doing this? Don't they know not to mess with the Band of Seven?" he ground out between clenched teeth as he looked once more toward the head of Kyokotsu, crumpling the note before throwing it into the fire he kept in his office, warming the sudden chill that crept into his bones.

As he watched the paper char and blacken in the fire, warmth once more seeped into his body as the anger at having Bankotsu slipped through his fingers. "Where the hell are you?" he thought, fist clenched as the flames from the fire reflected in his eyes, licking at the declaration of war. Transfixed by the dancing flames as they soothed his anger, he thought, "When I do find you… your life will be mine!" as he doused the flame.

Sunlight slowly warmed the clearing, glistening off the sheen of sweat that had collected along Tempest's arms as she swung the ax once more, cleaving the log in half as she continued to chop fire wood. Her thoughts drifted back to the events in Austin the week before, the fight with the member from the Band of Seven and seeing Koga again, after so much time. Her eyes blurred as tears rimmed her eyes as she recalled seeing her friend.

He kicked the stand out for his bike, removing the black full face helmet to allow his piercing blue eyes to fall upon her beaten and battered frame. A look of sorrow and longing filled his eyes as he quickly moved toward her, wrapping her in his warm loving embrace until she cried out in pain from his crushing hug. He pulled back from her, gazing at the swollen cheek as he asked, "What happened?"

Gesturing toward the broken door as she replied, "He just stormed in… knocking the door down before we knew what was going on."

Furrowing his brow, a slight edge to his voice as he asked, "We?? Who else was with you?"

Snapping her head back toward his, her eyes full of anger, Tempest replied, "As if it's any of your business whom I spend my time with."

Gripping her arms a bit tighter than he'd wanted, Koga turned her fully to face him as he countered, "It is my business, especially if you're calling me because you're in trouble. I'll make him pay for hurting you!"

"It's not like that Koga! Damn… give me some fucking credit," she scoffed as she pulled her battered arms from his vice like grasp. Moving toward the room, with Koga in tow, Tempest stepped through the broken doorway, pointing toward the curled up mass upon the bed. "There… are you happy now?"

Following her arm, Koga's eyes widened in shock at the beaten man that lay upon the bed. "No way!" he thought as he moved toward the man, noting the bandaged limbs, blood soaked linens and tangled mass of hair.

Gently he brushed strands of the long black hair from the strangers face, confirming his suspicions. "How?" was all he asked as he continued his inspection of his once rival and friend.

"He was lying along the highway a ways from here. I picked him up and brought him here Koga. He deserved a second chance at life, no matter who he is," she replied quietly, her back turned toward the two men as she sat upon the other bed, her hand unconsciously sought the familiar fur, stroking her beloved companion.

Koga glanced toward Tempest, the hurt in her voice drawing him away from Bankotsu as he saw the dead body of her beloved dog. He moved to the edge of the other bed, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as he placed his hand over her's upon Coda's still neck. "I'm sorry about your loss, Tempest. She was an awesome protector, very well trained."

A slight smile crossed her lips as she replied, "Yeah, she did have the best." She turned her head slightly and placed a chaste kiss upon his muscular cheek. "Thank you."

Returning the kiss, upon her luscious lips, he said, "You're welcome."

A slight flush crossed her cheeks at the memory of the kiss. "Damn… Now's not the time to get distracted," she thought as she swung the ax once more. The air cooled her heated flesh as she continued to reflect upon her time in Austin.

Koga stared at the corpse of Kyokotsu, checking his body for weapons, cash and drugs. "Nice work, Tempest. Your grandfather would be proud," he commented as he inspected the remains of the monster's shattered skull.

A slight smile crossed her lips as she replied, "Thanks." She turned back toward her task of wrapping her beloved pet in the remains of a sheet, taking care to make the bundle as tight as she could for the trip back to her home.

Gravel crunched as two vehicles pulled abreast of her truck. Koga and Tempest jerked their heads toward the door as the silver haired Colmillo brothers moved toward their room. Tempest glared at the brothers before she turned back to her task, ignoring them as they swept into the room like a pest.

"Seems like this one forgot that his head wasn't bullet proof," Inuyasha quipped as he knelt near Kyokotsu's head, examining the gapping abyss of his skull.

Turning his attention toward the battered body of Bankotsu, Sesshomaru replied, "Seems like this one took the brunt of the attack." He probed the unconscious body, assessing at least a few broken ribs and a broken arm before he turned his attention toward Tempest. "Good to see you again, Tempest."

"As if you'd really care, Fluffy," she retorted. Grabbing up her securely wrapped companion, she headed toward the door, only to be stopped by the massive imposing form of Sesshomaru. "Get the fuck out of my way!" she demanded, her emerald eyes blazing with anger.

"Not until you've been looked at. I can tell that you're hurting, and not just mentally," he replied, never letting his temper flare at her pet name for him.

Glaring hard at the stoic bastard, Tempest replied, "I'm fine. Now just get out of the way. I don't want any more of this shit. It's bringing back too many bad memories."

"No," he replied as he took the bundle from her arms, brushing against her ribs and arms a bit too roughly. Crying out in pain, she dropped to her knees in excruciating pain. Koga rushed to her side, glaring at Sesshomaru as he passed.

"You could have been more gentle you ass!!" Koga growled as he eased her against his rugged frame. "If Onigumo were here…"

"He would have done the same thing as you are," Sesshomaru continued as he placed the bundle upon the floor, near Tempest. "He would have made sure that she was okay and berate me for my tactics in finding out the amount of damage done." He knelt beside the duo as his fingers lightly moved over her blood splattered tank top, confirming that she also had some bruised ribs, maybe a few fractures, though he couldn't tell for sure. Her cheek was pretty messed up as well, having turned a nasty shade of purple that complimented her swollen lips.

"Inu," he called out, drawing his brother's attention from the massive corpse that took up most of the extra floor space of the room. "Take Tempest to our facility and have her fixed up."

Frowning at not being able to continue with his investigation of the monster, Inuyasha moved swiftly toward the trio. As he lifted Tempest into his arms, Koga glared at him as he said, "Keep your paws off her."

A smirk crossed Inuyasha's lips as he replied, "Jealous mutt?" carrying her from the room before he heard a reply from his comrade.

"Wait!" Tempest cried out from Inuyasha's arms.

His amber eyes looked over her battered face as she motioned toward the unconscious Bankotsu. "What about him?" she asked her emerald eyes filled with pain as she lay in Inuyasha's arms.

Sesshomaru, Koga and Inuyasha looked at their one time rival and former friend, unconscious and bleeding upon the bed as they contemplated her question. They all knew what had happened at the warehouse earlier in the day, as well as the reason for Kyokotsu's sudden appearance at the hotel. Of the three Koga knew all too well that if they were to let him die while under Tempest's nose that there would be hell to pay.

Sighing in resignation, he moved toward the mess, grabbing up their rival by the shoulders as he motioned for Sesshomaru to grab up the legs. The group moved toward Inuyasha's black Denali, tossing Bankotsu in the back while laying Tempest gently across the back seat.

"That was the last thing I remembered before waking up in the hospital," Tempest thought as she put her ax down, and began to pick up some of the split chunks of wood. With an armload of the wood secured in her grasp, Tempest made her way to the basement of her mountain home. After shutting the sliding glass door, she stacked the wood near her furnace before she moved toward the basement bathroom. She shucked out of her work clothes, noting the yellowish bruises that still adorned most of her upper body.

"He must have weighed a ton," she mussed as she moved toward the shower, grateful for the warmth of the water as she worked her tired muscles. A smile flickered as she washed off her morning sweat at the fight that ensued between her and the Rojo Lobos upon her release from the hospital.

"There's no way in Hell you're taking him with you?!!" Koga practically roared as he pointed toward the still unconscious mercenary.

Flames leapt into her emerald eyes as Tempest kept a tight leash upon her rising temper. "You've said so yourself that if he were to stay here he'd be killed in his current condition," she replied smoothly glancing at the bandaged and cast body of Bankotsu as he lay in a drug induced coma to allow his body to heal. "If the Band of Seven were to get word that he was here, your organization would be hit hard, Koga. I know that Gramps wouldn't have wanted that to happen… considering the rift that's been caused by his death." She turned her back toward the blue eyed demon, tears streaming down her face at the memory of that fateful day.

Without lifting a finger, she'd affectively knocked the wind out of him, succumbing to her view knowing that she was right. He glared at the unconscious man, growling deep in his chest his disgust at the thought of that mercenary under the same roof as his Tempest. But even the others had shown their dislike of his actions by having Bankotsu brought to the Rojo Lobos' headquarters. They'd have rather killed him on the spot after Tempest had been safe in the Denali.

"Okay… you win," he sighed in resignation. Looking toward Tempest's back, he continued softly, "I hope that you know what you're doing. He's a trained killer, Tempest. Once he's back on his feet he'll use you as he did us."

Turning back toward Koga's worried blue eyes, she replied hotly, "As if I don't know that Koga. I'm accustomed to being used and abused by those around me. What's the fucking difference if it's you, Fluffy, or him?" motioning toward the hospital bed.

Gently, Koga moved his hand to her jaw, tilting her head toward his as he replied, "I never meant to hurt you. It was the circumstances that got in the way of what we had."

"Yeah, and I still have the scars of those 'circumstances' or had you forgotten that I was there when Gramps died?" she retorted as she pulled away from his gentle hand, tears streaming down her face once more at the horrors of that day.

Despite his desire to comfort Tempest, Koga turned back toward the mercenary in the hospital bed before him. "I'll go make the arrangements," he said softly before turning his back on her and walking away.

"That was the last time I saw him before I left Austin," Tempest thought sadly as she pulled on a loose fitting pair of shorts and tank top. Despite the cold weather outside, the mountain cabin was kept at a comfortable temperature with her wood burning furnace and radiator heated floors.

With a quick toss, to dry her short blond hair, Tempest grabbed up the dirty clothes and tossed them in the washer on her way up to the main floor of the cabin. The early morning workout had caused her to have a massive appetite. Taking the wooden stairs two at a time, she quickly ascended to the main floor of her cabin, and its spacious layout. Within a matter of minutes she had a couple of frying pans on the stove with bacon sizzling in one and some sliced potatoes and onions in the other. The scent of the food wafted through the open area, meandering through the kitchen, dining, and living room combo down the slight hall to the back bedroom where Bankotsu lay upon the bed.

The savory scent of the bacon wafted through his nose, triggering his brain to remind him that he'd not had anything to eat in a really long time. Cracking one blackened eye, he scanned the area with his bloodshot blue eye, noticing that this didn't look at all like the room he'd been in with the doorframe in splinters. Groaning, he moved onto his side, following the heavenly scent of bacon. He looked around carefully, taking in the creamy yellow curtains and walls with wood trim.

"Where the hell am I?" he thought as he eased into a sitting position, carefully opening his other blackened eye. The lavish bedding suggested a high end hotel, though he knew better then that. This was a homier feel than any stuffy hotel would have offered. Remembering the last time he'd been conscious, Bankotsu looked toward the closet and saw that the doors were full length mirrors. Easing carefully out of the comfortable bed, Bankotsu stood before the mirrors, noticing the tightly wrapped torso, a cast on his lower left arm and bruises of various shapes, sizes and colors.

The only thought that came to mind as his eyes roved over his healing body was, "I should be dead." A whistle from a tea kettle shook him from his grave thoughts as he moved toward the door, only to realize that all he wore were a pair of loose fitting boxers. Not his favorite underwear, but it was better than being naked. He tentatively opened a closet door to see if there was something he could wear, even if it were just baggy sweats. To his surprise, most of the clothes hanging were men's clothes from three piece suits to basic tee shirts and jeans. Finding a pair of sweats and an over sized tee shirt he slipped them on with little difficulty from his broken arm.

Carefully, as he was still unaware of his surroundings, he slipped from the bedroom and moved down the hall, noticing that a comfortable looking bathroom with a tub was across the hall. Looking behind him, he saw a single back door that opened out to the driveway. From the small view he was unable to really tell where he was at. Moving once more toward the other end of the hall, following the scent of the bacon, he moved out into the open area, with a vaulted ceiling, and large windows the length of the walls that opened out onto a nice large balcony.

"Damn!" he whistled as he moved toward the dining room windows, marveled at the scene that lay before him. Tall lodge pole pine trees lined the edges of the back yard before it opened out to look over a vast canyon.

"I take it that you approve of the view," Tempest called out from behind him, a frying pan in her hand as she slid the bacon onto a waiting paper towel to drain some of the excess grease.

Without taking his eyes off the view, he asked cautiously, "Where are we?"

Moving back to the stove with the frying pan, she replied, "Far from the trouble that followed you to that hotel in Austin, Bankotsu." She picked up a couple of eggs, cracking them on the side of the pan before dumping their contents into the hot grease.

Turning toward his savior once more he asked, "How do you know who I am? I never told you."

Emerald met blue as Tempest looked deeply into his troubled eyes, "A little birdie told me of your identity. Don't worry; the others don't know that you're here. Gramps made sure that this place remained a getaway." She turned back to her eggs as she asked, "Care to have some breakfast? It's been about a week since you've had anything to eat… as far as I know."

Moving toward the wooden dinning room table, suddenly feeling a little nauseous he replied, "Yeah… I could go for a cup of coffee."

A slight smile crossed her lips as Tempest moved toward the table, a coffee cup in one hand and the tea kettle in the other. "I'm sorry to say that I don't have any coffee here. But I think that this will go down just as smooth," she commented as she poured the hot water into the cup, stirring up a cup of hot chocolate instead. "Gramps never complained about my hot chocolate mix."

Taking up the mug, Bankotsu blew across the hot dark brown liquid before he took a sip. As the thick liquid slid down his throat, warming him from the inside, a slight smile crossed his face. Yes… he'd had this mixture before, but he couldn't remember where or when. "Not bad… Um… I never did catch your name," he stammered as he looked once more toward the scantily clad blond haired woman.

Turning once more toward the mercenary, her eyes nearly as hard as emeralds she replied, "Tempest."


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry for the extended delay of this chapter. Due to some extenuating circumstances it had been held up. I'd like to thank my co-author black-banryu for helping lay out the story. I'd also like to thank my beta nicluv1787 who helped iron out this chapter. I really couldn't have done this without her. Thanks!

I don't own the characters or make money from this endeavor, just the twisted position that I put them in.

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Chapter 6- Poison

"You really shouldn't be calling like this," an effeminate voice purred through the phone, concern pouring froth from every syllable delivered from quivering lips.

Running his fingers through his recently shorn black hair, Bankotsu replied, "I know that I'm taking a chance Jak…" he paused. "It's just that… I missed hearing from you. I know that I've practically fell off the face of the earth a few months back and… I just wanted to know that you were okay."

Tears rimed the indigo eyes of the mercenary as he remembered the beaten condition of his beloved brother and former leader. "I'm fine, Ban," he choked out, on the verge of tears, thinking of what this call meant Bankotsu. "Ren has taken over… Kyo is dead and Gin was pretty fucked up when he tried to take on the Rojo Lobos by himself. Ren had to personally put him back together." He shivered at the chilling memories of the bloody mess that constituted Ginkotsu's body after the Rojo Lobos were finished with him, as they played through his mind like some horror movie.

A frown crossed Bankotsu's chiseled face at the mention of his former second-in-command. "I'll bet that he didn't waste anytime marking himself the leader of the Band of Seven," he spat in frustration.

"He did a lot that first week, Bankotsu, the least of which was mark himself with Banryu. And what he did to it…" a shutter passed through his body, "I cannot even describe, save that it was something that only Steven King could write in excruciatingly graphic detail. He's at least letting me stay on…"

Before Jak could finish his statement, the phone crashed to the floor, the sounds of a scuffle poured through the receiver in Bankotsu's hand. "Jak… Jak… JAK!!!" he called out, hoping that somehow the sounds on the other end were something from another planet.

"Jakotsu can't come to the phone right now," a gruff voice commented blandly, sending waves of rage coursing through Bankotsu's body.

"Put him back on Renkotsu!" he demanded of his former comrade.

Glaring at the insubordinate man in question, Renkotsu sneered, "Nope… I can't do that. Besides… I don't take orders from you anymore. No one here does."

"Leave Jakotsu out of this. You're issues are with me… not him."

A wicked sneer crossed Renkotsu's lips as he replied, "No, he disobeyed me by letting you escape. For that he's to be punished, as you would have done to any of your men for allowing the mark to get away. You know that as well as anyone. Wasn't it you who let that bitch live when we were taking out the old man?"

"That was different. She wasn't the intended target," he replied, seething at the memory of allowing an eye witness to escape when they took down the previous leader of the Band of Seven, Onigumo Glotonería.

Gripping the small cell phone in a white knuckled grip, Renkotsu retorted, "No… she wasn't and yet you ordered the execution of those who failed to find her. Even my own brother… because you didn't want witnesses! No… Jakotsu will be punished to the full extend of my law. Too bad you won't be around to witness it." He let loose a manic laugh as he flipped the phone shut, severing all connections with the former leader.

Looking toward his brother-in-arms, Suikotsu, Renkotsu asked, "Did we get a location?"

An evil smirk crossed the good doctor's lips as he replied, "He's hiding out in the badlands of Southern Utah. I've got the GPS coordinates for Mukotsu when he gets out to that area. Are you sure it's a good idea for him to go up against Bankotsu by himself?"

Crushing the fragile phone in his fist, Renkotsu replied, "Oh yeah… he'll make sure to keep our former leader from rising from the dead like Lazarus. Those damn mutts catch wind that he's alive and they'll rally behind him like they did the old man." He turned his hardened eyes toward the effeminate man that lay crumpled at his feet. "As for this piece of shit," he kicked the unmoving body, "take him down stairs and chain him up. We don't want him to get it into his pretty little head to warn his brother of his impeding doom."

Two muscular subordinates swiftly picked up Jakotsu as he began regaining consciousness. Renkotsu licked his lips thinking of the exquisite torture that he had in mind for the execution of Jakotsu. With Mukotsu on his way to destroy his former boss, he felt he was being cheated of his final revenge; being able to take it out on Jakotsu instead was an unforeseen pleasure.

Malevolent laughter floated at the edges of Jakotsu's consciousness as he was dragged into the bowels of the Band of Seven's headquarters. Fear quickly gripped his body as he recalled the horrors that awaited him in the basement. Panic gripped Jakotsu as he fought against the two men, only to have their hands tighten like steel across his arms. Screams echoed through the labyrinth of the headquarters only to be replaced with the laughter of a maniac.

Bankotsu glared at the cordless phone in his hand, wishing that it was Renkotsu's neck his hands gripped instead. "When I get my hands on that bastard," he thought as he crushed the phone, "he'll never know what hit him." Throwing the remains of the phone in the trash can, he quickly moved outside, wanting to work off his anger on something a bit more satisfying while he thought about the new development.

Taking off at a dead run, Bankotsu thought of his beloved Jakotsu, of how he'd saved him knowing that to go against Renkotsu would cost him his life. And now… now he was at the mercy of that maniac. "Damn it… I shouldn't have called," he thought as his hands clenched tightly into fists, digging his nails into the palms. Blood trickled down to his wrists as he continued to run, so deep in thought that he failed to see dust coming down the nearly abandoned road he ran down.

A while later, Tempest looked out the kitchen window, drawn to the sweat slicked, muscular bronze chest of Bankotsu as he continued his arduous workout, trying to gain back the muscle and strength that he'd lost after his fight with the Band of Seven. Her hand dipped into the soapy dishwater as her emerald eyes continued to watch his work out. The music that played in the back ground added to her yearning of that which she couldn't have.

_Your cruel device_

_Your blood, like ice_

_One look, could kill_

_My pain, your thrill…_

Her eyes continued to watch the mercenary, his scars a vivid reminder of why he'd been staying at her secluded home. She remembered that night, so long ago, that it still sent shivers down her spine. Turning her attention back to the plate in her hand she recalled the last four months; of how he'd work feverishly on her desktop computer until the wee hours of the morning, or exercising until he was weak from exhaustion. All for one thing and one thing only…

Revenge.

Tempest understood that word after her grandfather was taken from her all those years ago. He'd practically raised her from infancy when her mother abandoned her before he was ripped from her life forever. Tears rimmed her eyes as she thought of that night, her hands ghosting over her shirt, over the scars that she was given as a reminder of what she'd lost.

The door slammed shut, drawing her back from the past. She looked over her shoulder as she immersed her hands back into the sink, continuing the assault upon the dishes. Her eyes catching the troubled orbs of Bankotsu, she knew that something was wrong. "Did you have a good workout?" she asked as she searched the soapy water for one of her butcher knives.

"What… oh… yeah, it was okay," Bankotsu replied distractedly as he moved toward his bathroom for a quick shower.

Turning back toward the task at hand, Tempest grasped the metal blade in her hand slicing deeply into her palm. "Son of a bitch!" she yelled as she quickly turned the kitchen faucet on, jamming her bleeding hand under the waterfall of ice cold water to help stem the gushing blood.

A deep throated scream was heard from the adjacent bathroom before a string of curses and the scramble from the shower. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Bankotsu yelled from the bathroom door. "I'm taking a fucking shower in here!"

"Sorry 'bout that Bankotsu, I'd cut my fucking hand," she snapped as she grabbed up a dish towel, wrapping her profusely bleeding hand.

With a large bath towel wrapped about his waist, his close cut black hair shimmering with water, and eyes full of worry, Bankotsu strode toward the injured woman. "Let me see," he demanded as he gripped her wrist, pulling the towel back from the nasty cut. After a few seconds, he wrapped her hand up once more as he said, "It's going to need stitches."

"Kind of figured that," she replied curtly, heading toward the basement door.

Grabbing her hand, he pulled her to a stop, "Where are you going?"

Shaking his hand from her arm, glaring at him she snapped, "To get my medic bag, you moron!" Freed from his grip she descended the stairs quickly and ran to her bedroom with Bankotsu right on her heals. Kneeling next to a trunk at the foot of her bed, Tempest fumbled with the locks, one handed, before she was able to throw the lid back. She quickly scooped up the army green medic bag that lay on top only to have it snatched from her hand.

"Here," Bankotsu stated as he gripped Tempest around her upper arm, pulling her to her feet making his way toward the edge of her bed. Once he was able to look through the medic kit, he found the needles, gauze, and suture material. He quickly threaded a needle before grasping her hand in his powerful grip.

Gazing into her worried green eyes, he said, "This is going to hurt." With a nod of her head in understanding, he began to stitch up the wound as if he'd done this before on a number of occasions. Despite his gruff exterior, he was gentle, trying not to hurt her any more than he had to. By the time he had finished the last stitch, he'd noticed that Tempest hadn't shed a tear, nor made any noise at all in pain.

"Yeah… I found the place you're looking for," Mukotsu replied as he looked through a pair of binoculars at the lonely home, far in the back country of the canyons. He'd seen the exchange between his former employer and the blond woman before they'd disappeared into the basement.

A wicked grin crossed Renkotsu's face as he leaned back in his chair. "Finally we have him!" he thought ecstatically as he placed a foot upon the polished top of his desk. "Is he alone?" he inquired, knowing that despite Jakotsu's actions, he'd never have been able to get his enemy that far away from them without help.

"No… looks like he's shacked up with some tramp. Want me to kill them both?" he inquired, licking his lips at the thought of eviscerating his former leader, savoring every scream ripped from his lips.

"Kill the girl, but bring him back alive. Sui is at the local hospital for backup when you bring him out. What ever you do… don't underestimate his abilities Mukotsu. He'll kill you as easily as he killed the old man. There is no honor with him and you know it," Renkotsu replied, a hardened edge to his voice as his threat sunk into his lackey's brain.

Sneering at the flimsy phone in his hand, Mukotsu retorted, "I'm not Kyukotsu… I'm not going in there guns a blazing. Give me some credit for Christ's sake!"

"I'm just making sure that you're on your 'A' game is all. Don't call back until this job is done!" Renkotsu snapped his cell shut before slamming it down on the desk. "The cocky little fucker was going to get himself killed," he thought darkly as he glared at the silver square upon his desk. With a slight smile, he picked up his cell once more and dialed the number to his other associate in the field.

Her eyes were tightly closed; her face was twisted in pain as his worried blue eyes wandered over the beauty before him. Bankotsu wrapped her hand carefully in some gauze before he let go of her hand, letting it slap harmlessly against her thigh. "Are you okay?" he inquired as he continued to watch her angelic face.

As the pain eased, with the sutures secured in place, Tempest slowly looked toward Bankotsu, noting the worried look in his eyes. Holding her hand up, to regard the job of bandaging that he'd done, she replied, "I'll be fine… I'm used to dealing with pain." Grabbing up the medic kit from her bed, she moved back toward the chest at the foot of her bed, wanting to get it closed before Bankotsu got too curious.

"What??? I don't get a 'thanks'?" he commented as he got to his feet, heading toward the door, before looking back at Tempest to see a face that he hadn't seen in years.

"Thanks for stitching me up. There… you happy now!?" she retorted softly as she closed the lid, only to have his hand stop it's descent.

"What's this?" he asked harshly as he pulled a black and white photograph from the trunk.

Glancing at the photograph of her grandfather, Tempest trembled slightly knowing a bit of the history between the older man and the mercenary before her. "He's my grandfather," she replied softly, taking the photo from his fingers before placing it back in her chest.

Blue eyes widened in shock as he grabbed her by the shoulders, shoving her harshly against the wall. His hands quickly shifted to the edge of her tank top, lifting it to mid breast, showing off her toned stomach and black sports bra as well as a line of three scars along the edge of her ribs. "Damn it!" he hissed as the evidence glared at him in the form of those scars.

Having found her breath once more as well as her temper, Tempest moved as greased lightning from her confinement, shocking Bankotsu as he nearly lost his footing in the movement. Smoothing out her tank top, she glared emerald daggers at the mercenary as she commented venomously, "'bout time you figured it out Bankotsu. Now what are you going to do? Finish what you started four years ago or walk out of here and never come back?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked softly, taking a seat once more on the edge of her bed.

Unable to allow her guard down, she stayed near the door knowing that she had a better chance to run than to stay and fight. Seeing the defeat in his face and body, she replied softly, "As I told Koga, you deserved a second chance at life. I couldn't just leave you there to die," her arms crossed over her chest.

Lifting his head to look her in the eye he replied, "But you know what I did, to you… your family. How could you not have wanted me dead?"

With a slight shake of her head, Tempest replied, "I did… for the longest time I wanted you dead… not you, personally… but the new head of the Band of Seven. Gramps raised me away from his underground activity. I only found out after the fact… after that night… what he was involved with. Though looking back at it, I have you to thank for not killing me."

"So what do we do now?" he asked, not really knowing what to do with his new found information.

A sly smile crossed her lips as she replied, "We make them pay for the shit that they've done."

"What do you mean?" he inquired, leery of the smile upon her face.

Stepping out of the room as she said, "Follow me." She moved back up the stairs to her computer. Fingers flew through the back door access into the Band of Seven main frame, showing file after file of every member, both dead and alive. Upon Bankotsu's file the word 'deceased' covered the profile picture as well as Kyokotsu.

"I found these a while back when you were out exercising and thought that the information contained would be of some help in riding the country of the likes of Renkotsu and his followers. I've a few associates that would love to have his head on a silver platter. I figure that we'd be able to overtake the Band of Seven head quarters in a blitzkrieg type maneuver and go from there," she explained as Bankotsu perused the files, blueprints of the headquarters, and schematics of the weapons systems and wiring diagrams.

A smile crossed his face as he said, "I've got you!" glaring at the photo of the current leader, a smirk upon the bald man's face.


End file.
